I just hope he gets a job soon. That will distract him enough.
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It’s really great you reached out to him. Even though it might not have seemed like much, I’m sure it meant a lot for him to hear from someone who has informed opinions of what’s going on right now and was able to show him some empathy.
I hope you stay in touch with him. I’m no expert on this field besides having lived with depression for a long time myself, but I’d try to get him to focus on things to get his mental state right before worrying about the job thing. Trying to push a job on a depressed person doesn’t usually work out well from my experience… and mental health is always important than money. Get him moving, laughing, and excited for the future again, and the desire to resume working will come naturally.
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You realize UBI is fundamentally different than unemployment.
This isn’t the thread so I’m not going to derail but I would maybe pickup a book about UBI and do a little research. I will be happy to recommend a couple if you are interested.
Also unemployment insurance is a good thing even if you know a few people who never found their footing after going through some hardships.
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I’m all for unemployment insurance. I’m just leery that paying people just enough to do nothing for the rest of their lives is going to work out well for most people. But I think we’re both very clear on this issue - you disagree with that fundamental position. So yeah let’s not derail.
There is just so much wrong with your fundamental position and the fact you refuse to pick up a book about it says it all. Cheers.
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Oh yeah. Wouldn’t be surprised if there an assassination attempt (or a successful one) on Biden during inauguration day. Honestly, there shouldn’t be an in-person inauguration celebration due to covid.
There also won’t be a shortage of future insurrections during the next four years. Wouldn’t be surprised if we find out about another COINTELPRO type of operation against right-wing terrorism this time though.
Anyway, the deplorables I know have been pretty silent on this insurrection. Guess they’re waiting for their orders from right-wing media before sharing an opinion. Probably get it now that Trump is being impeached.
The fact that we’re experiencing a time where there simply isn’t enough useful work to go around kinda makes this hard. Especially since we’re intentionally driving towards a “Player Piano” type future instead of a Star Trek type future spells disaster for the people who need work to find meaning in life.
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I think one of the key issues is taking the stigma out of not working. One of the first questions people ask is “What do you do? Where do you work?”
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The belief that UBI will stop everyone from working says a lot about that person’s perception of humanity and perhaps of themselves as well.
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I was making a statement in response to the generalized view you presented in your final paragraph.
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The ellipse implies it.
I’m not sure I can agree with this. I understand the argument, but it’s very hard to square this assertion with the reality of the modern workplace. Many (most?) workplaces now are dystopian nightmares designed and run by sociopaths. The groupthink, transparently shallow propaganda, coded criticisms, and constant pressures are for many people thoroughly, thoroughly destructive to mental wellness (not to mention physical wellness). IMO it would be a major stroke of luck for a person that is mentally unwell to find a job that makes that better, not worse.
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I’m curious how satisfied and fulfilled the average Soviet citizen felt during the 1970s when there was little to no unemployment?
is this pretty universal or is it mostly an americanism?
One of the ironies of the modern workplace is that there are more analogies between current corporate leaders / leadership styles and the Soviets than there is between current corporate leaders and 20th century American leaders of industry. But current corporate leaders would swear up and down that they are capitalists to the bone.
It’s definitely common in Canada, but I wouldn’t say that it betrays much of a bias toward work. It’s more of an attempt to identify common ground with a stranger, which is good social practice. “What do you do for a living” seems to me to be more akin to “how about that weather out there” or “golly Local Sports Team sure is doing great/awful, how about that Local Sports Team”. It’s not like you get shunned by society if you say that you are between jobs or something. People will just move on to another attempt to establish common ground.
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So far, so good!
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One could argue that earning a subsistence level salary from the govt could give the average worker a ton of “fuck you” equity which would go a long long way towards fixing these issues in the modern workplace. “Yeahhhh I’m gonna need you to stay late and then come in on Saturday…” “lol no fire me.”
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Let’s not forget that multiple things can be true at once. It is possible that providing a more robust social safety net, perhaps a UBI, could be good, and it can also be good that people find meaningful work/absence of meaningful work can be harmful to some.
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for the record, i’m for ubi, as well as social support for retirees and unemployed people. but i’m hearting that because of many similarities between your relationship with dad and my experience. dad never found a white collar job after 2002 recession, though he did manage to drive a school bus and be a security guard for awhile. the decline is scary.
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